June 2018 Issue 3 Dodge County Master Gardener Association Digging in Dodge Photo by Carol Shirk Youth Master Gardener Year Wrap-up Inside this issue: Building Bat Houses 2 Monocot or Dicot 3 Garden Class 3 Sunflowers 4 The Morning Glory Flower 4 Rainbow Rose 4 Composting 5 Composting Trivia 5 Composting Brochure 6 & 7 Snap Shots Through out the Year 8 The 2017-2018 school year has come to an end and the Youth Master Gardener after-school in-class sessions have as well. We now move outside to a morning program where we work in the gardens, with care center residents, in nature centers, and in the community. This year was exciting, educational, and fun for leaders and students alike. We had students ranging from Kindergarten to Freshman, so it was challenging to meet the needs of everyone, but they all took home something useful to put into practice. Many parents commented at the Recognition Event that they were so pleased with what the students learned and applied at home. The Juneau-Homeschool class started out their year with a tree unit and each assembled a leaf collection. They can now identify trees not just by leaves, but by bark and fruit/nuts as well. They progressed into lessons on pruning with the help of a guest speaker, Tim Eilbes from K&B Tree Service. They covered photosynthesis, plant propagation, plant classification, soil types and testing, wildlife management, insect identification and control, pollinator gardens, invasive species, and landscape design. In addition, they had a unit on bats and Liz Herzmann, a DNR specialist came in to tell them about the importance of these wonderful creatures. They started out with a lesson on what makes plants grow, including photosynthesis, plant requirements, and why soil is so important. Chris Miller, a soil specialist from the NRCS came in with an excellent presentation to help the students solidify the concepts. They learned about the hydrological cycle, habitat, native bees, phenology, growing and using herbs, water gardens, where their food comes from, heathy eating and reading food labels, bulbs, corms, and rhizomes, spiders, identifying insect damage, spiders, lasagna gardening, and container gardening. Two guest speakers made the year extra special for the students. They had a great lesson on attracting hummingbirds from a Certified Master Gardener, Chris Jacobs; and, a beekeeper, Tracy Malther, visited with her hands-on lesson on bee-keeping. All classes have monthly learning activities/experiments to complete. The leaders keep the results from these to display at the Recognition Event so that everyone can see the great work the student complete. In addition, each student has written an outstanding article. I am so incredibly proud of each of these, now certified, Youth Master Gardeners and am looking forward to working with them all summer. The Mayville class has been in existence a year longer, so their lessons are a bit different, although they cover some of the same concepts. Carol Shirk
P a g e 2 D i g g i n g i n D od ge I s s u e 3 Building Bat Houses The four youth organizations, with the help of the Dodge County Master Gardener Association, built 47 bat houses on May 5 th at the Horicon Marsh Education Center. Many of the 23 youth that participated took a bat house home to install on their property. The remaining houses were distributed throughout the county to schools, community gardens, parks, and other public sites. From Barn Boards Bat houses proved a safe location for mother bats to raise their young and provide a safe stop-over between hibernation sites and summer sites. To Bat Houses Fun Fact: A single little brown bat can catch 600 mosquitoes in just one hour.
P a g e 3 D i g g i n g i n D od ge I s s u e 3 Monocot or Dicot I have learned a lot in gardening class this year. One thing I learned is the difference between monocot and dicot. Monocot means the plant will only have one cotyledon. The cotyledon is the first leaf that appears during germination. Some plants have one cotyledon, and others have two. Corn, grass, and lilies are all monocots. Monocots have a vertical or parallel vein structure on their leaves. The flowers of a monocot are in multiples of three. Maple trees, zinnias, sunflowers, poison ivy, and palm trees are all good examples of a dicot. Dicots are easy to identify because they have a net-like vein structure on their leaves, and their petals can be found in multiples of four or five. Jace Ridley Garden Class I have been learning about many different things. Like, carrots are not a root plant. Tomatoes are not a vegetable- they are a fruit! I ve also learned about bugs and insects. Butterflies start out like caterpillars. They like to drink nectar from flowers using their tongue. And, there are certain animals you want in your garden. Such as turtles, frogs, and toads. My favorite project in our class was when we made pinecone owl ornaments. I have loved this class, and hope to do it next year again. Mrs. Carol and Mrs. Jackie are great teachers. Addison Zepke, Garden Class is very interesting. We talk about plants, like stuff that helps plants grow. They need water, sun, nutrients, air and the right place to grow. My favorite part so far has been making the garden at the intermediate school and trying the oranges and dried apples we talked about. I am looking forward to planting seeds in the spring and learning the best way to plant them. Rion Lurvey
D i g g i n g i n D od ge I s s u e 3 P a g e 4 Sunflowers are good for gardens and birds and bugs. They smell pretty. They look tall, big and round, and bright yellow. I can t hear a sunflower but I can hear a bumblebee buzzing on one. Bumblebee drink nectar juice in the sunflower. My mom and dad like to eat sunflower seeds. I have not tasted a sunflower seed. Sunflowers feel soft and fuzzy. I planted some sunflower seeds with my mom. I pushed the seeds into the soil in a pot. Then I watered the soil. My sunflowers grew each day. A light green stem stood tall and opened in the sunshine. I like sunflowers. Thomas Signer Sunflowers One fact about sunflowers is that they open up like a sun. I also like the yellow of the petals. And also birds like the seeds of the flower. The flower follows the sun in the same direction. William Pohl My most favorite flower is a morning glory. Did you know I have been planting a lot of morning glories since I was three years old? One cool fact about morning glories is that the seeds spread. I have planted morning glories seven times but they were only able to grow 3 times. Why, because all of the animals were eating them. Did you know that a morning glory can also have more colors than just be blue morning glory. There can be pink, white, and also purple. Morning glory the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae. Did you know that before you plant the morning glory you need to keep them in water for a few hours? So then the seeds can get a lot of water in them before. By Ruthie Shotton The Morning Glory Flower It is colored with colored water. You can change the color of many plants. You can also die celery a color. Vendela (Vendela is Rainbow Rose Scientific name) has a six cm diameter when in full bloom, that is what size circle that the flower is. They have to water the flower with what color it is supposed to be. If you have a piece of celery with the leaves on it you can put it in a glass of colored water. It may take a couple days to start to change but it will start to change color. So you should be able to do it with a couple different kinds of flowers and plants. Blake Schmidt Rainbow Rose
P a g e 5 D i g g i n g i n D od ge I s s u e 3 Composting My name is Evan Feucht. I am 11 years old and have been in the Youth Master Gardener Club for 3 years. In one class I learned about composting. Your compost pile should be in layers of greens and browns. Greens means fresh grass clippings and table scraps like vegetables. Browns are like dried up grass clippings and leaves. You should not use dairy products, meat and dog or cat poop (they could carry diseases for your plants). Compost is good fertilizer for your garden and plants. In another class I learned about native bees. I made a house for the bees out of a tin can. I filled it with toilet paper tubes and rolled up paper. Put it out in a tree and the bees are to lay their eggs in it. The bees fill it with mud, Eggs hatch into Lava, bees work their way out of the stuffed paper and fly away. This was only a few of the things I learned. This year in the Youth Master Gardeners Class the thing that s stuck out to me so far was the topic of composting. For it, the older kids, such as myself, had to make a brochure for it. I enjoyed learning about the different layers of compost and the effects it has on the garden. I find it fascinating about what is green compost and what is brown compost. This year I managed to rent my own garden. I hope to use my knowledge on compost bins to create my own damp, airy, and properly layered compost bin that will help benefit my garden. -Jasmine Maller Composting Trivia True or False 1. Composting requires a lot of time and expensive equipment. 2. All kitchen scraps and garbage should be included in home or school compost systems 3. Diseased vegetable and flower plants should NOT be composted in typical home or school systems. Composting Trivia Answers 1. False - Composting can be as simple as making a pile of leaves and letting it sit until it decomposes. At the other end of the spectrum are the commercial or municipal composting facilities that use heavy duty equipment for shredding, mixing, aerating, and moving the organic matter as it composts. 2. False -Although most food wastes can be composted, in small-scale compost systems you should avoid grease, fat, bones, fish, and meat scraps. These materials attract dogs and nuisance animals, and often develop odors while composting. Fats are slow to break down and greatly increase the length of time required before compost can be used. 3. True -Diseased plants from the garden should not be used for compost if the compost is to be returned to the garden. Most diseases are killed by heating during compost formation, but unless the compost is turned frequently and allowed to remain unused for several years, some of these disease organisms may be returned to the garden with the compost. http://compost.css.cornell.edu/quiz13.html
P a g e 6 D i g g i n g i n D od ge I s s u e 3 Composting Brochure Compost brochure designed by David and Evan Feucht
D i g g i n g i n D od ge I s s u e 3 P a g e 7 Composting Brochure Compost brochure designed by Jasmine Maller
D i g g i n g i n D od ge I s s u e 3 P a g e 8 Snap Shots Throughout the Year